


Survival of the Fittest

by Pineprin137



Series: Wincest Codas [5]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: "I guess standing too close to exploding Dick sends your ass straight to Purgatory", Angst and Feels, Canon-Typical Violence, Coda, Dean Winchester in Purgatory, Episode: s07e23 Survival of the Fittest, F/M, Grief/Mourning, I love that quote..., Injury, time-lapse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:26:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23726047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pineprin137/pseuds/Pineprin137
Summary: After Dick exploded, Dean went to Purgatory and Sam... hit a dog.
Relationships: Amelia Richardson/Sam Winchester, Benny Lafitte & Dean Winchester
Series: Wincest Codas [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1671544
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	Survival of the Fittest

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so I've decided not to tag Wincest or Sam/Dean in this because things are rocky between them at the beginning of 8 and the flashbacks definitely focus more on their relationships with Benny and Amelia.

Dean fell against the tree, panting heavily, clutching his wounded abdomen. The claws on the wolves hadn’t been new, but the venom dripping from them sure was. He peeked around the tree, watching for the next attack, waiting to be ambushed by another monster. They were everywhere he looked. Anywhere he ran, they were there... _hunting him._

_ Sam stood in the middle of the lab for what seemed like hours, waiting for Dean to reappear. At some point, the adrenaline faded and he’d sunk to the floor, a boneless heap. One phrase kept repeating in his mind…  _

_ Dean was gone.  _

The fever from his infected wound raged as Dean stumbled over fallen trees and jagged rocks. The vamps kept pace, reaching for the human each time he paused to catch his breath. His vision doubled and with an abrupt lunge, he crashed into the large tree. Slumping against it, Dean groped for the weapon he’d stolen off the last monster. It was a little top-heavy due to the oblong rock secured to the splintering wood, but it was all he had to defend himself-- He had gone after Dick packing nothing but the nun’s bone. 

Something swung at him from the left. He ducked, almost toppling over when his vision swam. Sweat or blood dripped into his eyes but he kept swinging. A solid punch landed on the thing’s face. Then, a guttural yell. It let Dean know where to aim. Decapitating a vampire used to be a piece of cake, but Dean had been without food for three days, the infection was spreading, and he’d only managed a fitful twenty-minute nap. After too many tries for a veteran hunter, the vamp’s headless body fell to the ground. 

With a pained grimace, Dean used the tree trunk to support himself. Bending over, he coughed-- expelling the last of his remaining nutrition from his body. 

_ When Sam walked out of SucroCorp to see Dean’s Baby crashed through the fiberglass sign, it sickened him. Not only had his brother been taken, but the Impala- their home- had been desecrated as well. Before today, it was only the Winchesters who’d driven her, but to get their shot at Dick, they’d had to allow Meg to grace her sacred black leather. Leather that Dean had lovingly replaced each time she busted a seam during a hunt gone wrong or needed a wipe down after an especially bloody injury.  _

_ He took solace in the Impala. Because, after all, it was the only thing Sam had left in this world now. His brother was gone. Castiel was gone. Meg was MIA. And Crowley took Kevin. Sam had nothing except his brother’s beloved muscle car so... he drove.  _

_ Sam drove for hours or days, only stopping to fill her up or clean the bugs off her windshield. He avoided looking at the empty passenger seat and shoved the box of cassettes in the back so he didn’t have to see them. Because all they did was remind him Dean was gone. That he was truly alone.  _

Dean cried out in pain as soon as the heated water splashed onto his infected wound. He’d gotten the small tin pan off a vamp a few days ago but it had taken him even longer to find a way to heat the water he collected from the stream. Dean wasn’t sure if it was luck or the Grace of God but he’d finally come across a cave with a few flint stones lying near the entrance. Knowing he had no choice but to hide out until the fever let up, Dean set up ‘camp’ in the furthest recesses of the cave. A few survival lessons from Bobby later and he had a fairly strong little fire going. He wrung the water from his soaked jacket into the little pan then waited until it was boiling before cleaning out the gash across his belly. 

He tried his hardest not to pass out. Dean had no protection out here-- there was no Sammy to keep watch. If he was unconscious... he was easy prey. 

_ Two months in, Sam discovered he couldn’t hunt. No matter what he tried, it didn’t work without Dean by his side-- vamps got the jump on him, werewolves heard him creeping through the brush.  _

_ Three months after Dean disappeared, Sam’s Latin started to fade from lack of use and he started seeing fewer monsters lurking in the untold stories behind small-town newspaper articles...  _

_ Instead of crashing in a no-name motel with questionable stains and grunting that could be heard through the thin walls, Sam chose to stay at nicer places. They didn’t have mildew in the shower and the door had an electronic key card instead of a rickety chain and busted deadbolt.  _

_ One day, as Sam sat in a diner on a dusty road outside of Mooresville, North Carolina, he realized he didn’t really care for the cardboard toast or rubbery eggs. He wanted a nice meal-- hot and fresh, with seasonings other than salt and more salt.  _

_ He wanted more.  _

Dean wondered what Sam would think of Benny. Obviously, the vampire bit would upset him, but maybe he’d be able to see past it? They’d managed to do it with Lenore once upon a time, so why not Benny? 

“What do you know about the angel?” Dean asked the creature pinned to the tree. 

“You’re him-- _the_ _human_.” 

Benny peeked over his shoulder at Dean, who shrugged before leaning in close to the wolf. 

“That’s right,” he said with a feral grin. “I’m the _human--_ ” He pressed the edge of the blade into the guy’s throat. “Now, what do you know about _the angel_?” 

_ Riot lifted his head off Sam’s lap when Amelia walked through the door. He wagged his tail but refused to move from his comfy spot. Sam smiled at her, accepting a kiss before he said,  _ _ “Hey, baby, dinner’s almost ready.”  _

_ She flopped down beside him on the couch. “Mmm... smells delicious.” She leaned down to scratch Riot’s scruff. “Hey, boy, were you good for Sam today? What did you guys do, huh?” She said, obviously asking Sam instead of the dog.  _

_ He chuckled before answering her. “We fixed the leak in four and cleaned up seventeen, then went for a run before it rained.”  _

_ “Did you guys get caught in it? It came down pretty suddenly in town…” Amelia said as she headed down the hall to freshen up.  _

_ While Sam listened to the water run in the bathroom, he thought back on the last year. He’d lost so much... Dean. Bobby. Cas. Kevin. Not to mention the feeling of safety. The retired hunter glanced around the room with a gentle sigh. Sam hadn’t felt this relaxed in  _ years _ if he was honest. Even when Dean was with him, there was tension between them... or secrets... or lies...  _

_ His heartbeat quickened with the thought of his brother. Dean had vanished six months ago, now. Six months that Sam had spent trying to survive-- searching for a new normal. It wouldn't ever be like it was with Dean, but they'd promised each other they would go on. So, though it pained him to do so, Sam found Amelia and he was living... without Dean.  _

Just another day at the office, Dean mused, swinging his latest acquisition at the mouthy vamp before turning to face the levis that had been tracking him and Benny for the last two days. 

“Heads up, brother!” Benny shouted, nodding to Dean's left. 

Dean spun then quickly ducked to avoid the deadly arc of yet another Purgatory-born weapon. He shifted his weight, sweeping one leg out to knock the bitch over before pinning her to the ground. She snarled, her face contorting to reveal a large mouth full of sharpened teeth. Dean smiled darkly before sliding the blade deep into the Leviathan's neck, severing the tendons and hearing the crack of bone. 

Benny offered him a hand up. They continued along the trail. The presence of the Leviathans confirmed what Dean was feeling in his bones. He and Benny were on the right track... Cas was close.

_ “Thought about what you’re going to say to him?” Sam asked, trying to figure out how things could have gotten so complicated.  _

_ “I’ve thought about it and I’ve thought about it and I still don’t know…” Amelia said quietly. She fidgeted with her hands, shoving them in her pockets before taking them back out. Sam noticed she hadn’t stopped since she’d hung up the phone last night.  _

_ She gazed out over the backyard then looked back at Sam. “It’s just all so surreal…” _

_ Sam wished he knew what to say, but even after going through resurrection himself, he had no idea what to say to someone who just discovered her dead husband is actually alive. He could practically see her jumbled thoughts spinning behind her eyes, trying to make sense of what she’d heard. The husband that Amelia had been told was killed in action was still alive.  _

_ She was supposed to go see him tomorrow, but Sam selfishly wished she wouldn’t. As soon as she laid eyes on Don-- Well, Sam wouldn’t matter anymore. Amelia wouldn’t be broken like she was now. She wouldn’t want a messed up guy mourning his dead brother to muck up her life.  _

_ Then again, maybe it was the jealousy that kept Sam from being able to accept Don’s sudden reappearance. Why did Amelia get to have Don back but Sam couldn’t have Dean? They’d been killed and brought back more times than he could count and yet, nine months after the showdown with Richard Roman, there was no sign of his brother.  _

_ Now, in true Winchester fashion, he was about to lose the only thing he had left. Because God forbid Sam Winchester got to have a normal, safe life filled with love and hope.  _

  
  


Dean woke covered in sweat, unshed tears in his eyes. He glanced over at Benny. His vampire companion still slept, the sunlight making his face look even paler. 

Pushing himself up off the cold ground, Dean walked a few yards away to sit on a fallen log. The tears began to fall, painful sobs wracking his battered body. He cupped a hand over his mouth to silence his cries of anguish as he recalled gentle hazel eyes and silky brown hair.  _ Sammy… _

Benny stepped over the log to stand in front of Dean. “Dean?” 

Dean quickly wiped his sleeve across his face. He sniffled loudly before clearing his throat. “I’m fine. Let’s go.”  It was an unspoken rule between the pair that they don’t discuss Sam. Benny ignores Dean’s tears and nightmares and Dean pretends nothing happens. 

Although he appreciated the vampire’s concern, the truth was Dean didn’t  _ want  _ to talk about Sam. Just uttering his brother’s name in a place like this seemed... wrong. Like he’d sully Sam’s memory by saying it out loud. Dean didn’t want Sam here. He was too good for Purgatory. Because _Sam_ was alive. His brother was alive-- with Kevin, and Dean was going to make it back to him as soon as he found Cas. 

**Author's Note:**

> Reasons I would appreciate your kudos:   
> 1) I DESPISE Amelia, but I pushed through to give you guys this fic ;)   
> 1.5) *growls* Amelia...   
> 2) It helps me to know what y'all like. Angsty? Funny? Sexy, bloody, raging Winchesters? 
> 
> And as always, comments are welcome!


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